Oct. 5, 2013

Detroit Tigers' Max Scherzer gives a hand to Anibal Sanchez after he was taken out of the game in the sixth inning against the White Sox on July 11, 2013. Back right is Justin Verlander. / Julian H. Gonzalez/DFP

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Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

The best pitching staff in the American League is also its most versatile. The Tigers regular-season starting pitchers combine power and precision. Each of the five possess at least three solid pitches and two of them command four pitches.

The Freep’s Shawn Windsor recently sat down with the team’s pitching coach, Jeff Jones, to discuss his starters’ arsenals and rank their pitches. Here are the highlights from that conversation:

Anibal Sanchez

Best pitch: Fastball.

Second-best pitch: Changeup.

Sanchez also throws a slider and curveball. He hit 95-96 m.p.h. this year with his fastball. That velocity combined with his command helped him lead the league in ERA.

Jones: “What makes Sanchez so effective is that he can throw any pitch at any point in the count.”

Justin Verlander

Best pitch: Fastball.

Second-best pitch: Curveball.

Verlander also throws a changeup and slider, the last pitch he developed a couple of years ago. Verlander relied on his changeup late in the season to help keep hitters off balance. It’s the best changeup he’s had this year. His fastball has the least movement on the staff. It also has the most velocity.

Jones: “Ver developed a slider a couple of years ago. We call it a knock-out slider. But when he’s going right, his curveball is dominant.”

Max Scherzer

Best pitch: Fastball.

Second-best pitch: Changeup.

Scherzer also throws a slider to lefties. At times, his slider is unhittable. Started throwing a curveball last year. Scherzer led the league in wins this season. Run support helped. But so did improved efficiency in his delivery. He may have the best fastball on the staff. He can reach 98-99 m.p.h. and it has late movement.

Jones: “Doug has gotten a lot more comfortable with his curveball the last two seasons. He throws strikes and is always pounding the strike zone. I think his (arm) angle helps a lot.”

Rick Porcello

Best pitch: Four-seam fastball.

Second best pitch: Two-seam fastball/sinker.

Porcello is scheduled to come out of the bullpen this postseason. He has worked on a changeup and breaking ball the last few seasons to help make his fastball more effective. He gets outs with his sinker. The velocity started to return on his four-seamer this year. Two seasons ago he had shoulder tightness during spring training and lost a couple mph off fastball. That is coming back.